New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney says a vote to allow casinos in northern New Jersey may have to wait until 2016 during the next presidential election.
Sweeney told the Philadelphia Inquirer that it may be better to wait rather than put the measure up for a vote this year—which is an off-year election with no major race in the state to turnout voters.
“The reality is, we’re going to have a low-turnout election,” Sweeney told the Inquirer. “So do you do it this year or next year? That’s the debate, because you want it to pass.”
Under the state constitution, if voters do not approve an amendment, any proposed changes can’t be put up for another vote for two years.
Sweeney also told the paper that expects a package of bills intended to stabilize Atlantic City’s finances will be passed before the state’s fiscal year ends June 30. Those bills, however—which includes a plan to have Atlantic City casinos pay a set payment in lieu of taxes each year—have been languishing in the legislature for several months.
